7 Tuned Police Scanners Reviews – Hear What’s Happening Around You In 2024

Very similar to the BCD436HP, but with a desktop design, this is a digital scanner suitable for home or car use. The makers tried to innovate a lot on this product, but we should let you know, the modern Wi-fi and app functionality work poorly.

The Uniden BCD536HP promises a lot of features. The ones we’re sure of, S.A.M.E. weather alert, a complex software with a multitude of options, narrowband and location-based scanning, and picking up anything in between 23 MHz - 1300 MHz. These all work perfectly, surely passing the standard of the market.

The problems arise when we’re talking about innovative promises Uniden makes: wi-fi, an app, using your phone to hear what’s being transmitted by the scanner. These would be wonderful additions, but in some cases (the wi-fi functionality) rarely works, and the app we’re promised is buggy and hard to use.

We have to praise the multitude of functional and helpful features. Especially the large frequency coverage, weather alert system, and the fact you hear what’s being transmitted closest to you.

On the downside, we’re left unhappy with the innovative features Uniden promised, but never fully delivered on. Who knows, maybe they’ll solve this problem in the future.

Regardless of the problems, the experts we asked really praised this product. For a radio amateur, it’s a really good deal, even if they don’t get a greatly innovative product.

Novices in the field were also happy with this police scanner. Most of them loved the product. We even ran a funny experiment in our focus group. We didn’t tell them about the promised, heavily marketed wi-fi and app features, and just from using the product, all the feedback was positive. The complaints only started appearing once we let the people we’ve interviewed know about the marketed options (or when they figured it out themselves from the design of the scanner). So for police scanning activities, it’s surely a choice to consider.

Oh, and a few of them also complained about the software, and how it is sometimes hard to understand, but we chalked that up to misuse.

Features:

• Picks up anything in between 23 MHz - 1300 MHz
• Trunked & Digital.
• A.M.E. Weather Alert System

A bulky, well-rounded police scanner, this Uniden device is suitable for use in the car or at home, since it has a desktop design. With a black finish, complex software, and controls design let’s see if this scanner from Uniden is worth a try.

The main feature of this product is that it’s in compliance with APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2 protocols, but we also have to mention the dynamic memory system, location-based scanning, and GPS compatibility. The band coverage on the scanner is pretty large, receiving information from frequencies between 25 MHz and 1300 MHz. The build is trunked and digital, ensuring a good coverage and sound quality.

The main plus of the Uniden BCD996P2 is the advanced software and memory structure, being capable of complex scanner tasks and keeping your favorite channels in storage. A secondary benefit is the RF Capture Technology, which focuses your scanning based on your location.

And we have to mention…

It’s in compliance with both P25 protocols. As a downside, we believe that this product tries to do a bit too much in terms of software, ending up being difficult to properly understand and use.

The experts we’ve talked to concluded the same.

It’s not the best choice for a person that isn’t too tech savvy, but with a bit of effort, you can get it to work properly. Our focus group reinforced this point, with over 50% of them saying it was hard to comprehend what button they should be pressing at which moment, and over 70% of them complaining about a tough time while programming.

Features:

• Compliant with Phase 1 and Phase 2.
• Digital & Trunked
• Location-based
• Dynamic memory system
• Band Coverage of 25 - 1300 MHz

A simple scanner, with few, but strong functionalities, the Uniden BC365CRS is something to consider if you’re looking for a small exposure to the radio world. This police scanner is not a state of the art device, but it will do its job simply and efficiently.

What we liked about this Uniden product is the 500 channel memory, allowing you to save preferred frequencies and listen to them whenever you want. Other than that, it is narrow brand compliant, and it has a weather alert system, though not as advanced as the S.A.M.E. system.

Reinforcing the idea that this is a scanner for the “chill” radio amateur, it also has alarm clock functions, FM radio receiver, and 30 slots to save your favorite local radio stations.

While we like its versatility and the fact it’s perfectly capable of tapping into local agencies’ frequencies, this device surely lacks in the features department if we pit it against market competitors.

To sum the pros and cons, it’s going to do its job, and it’s a good place to start police scanning, but it doesn’t offer the full, radio use experience.

Regardless, for a novice, this is a really good choice. The people we’ve interviewed agreed they had an easier time figuring out what each button does, compared to other scanners. The experts we’ve consulted stated that this is a good choice for a person who wants to listen to transmissions over different frequencies, but doesn’t necessarily want to debate Phase 1 vs Phase 2 protocols online. Both our team and the focus group agreed the design of this product is appealing, but many of us had a hard time doing the initial programming.

Features:

• 500 channels storage capacity
• Weather Alert System
• Alarm Clock
• Broadcasts radio on FM

A modern, well-rounded handheld police scanner, with a few innovative ideas and a weirdly shaped antenna. This is the Whistler WS 1080, but let’s see how it fares against our testing and online scrutiny.

A digital, trunking option, this police scanner features compliance with Phase 1 and Phase 2 protocols, a multifunctional keypad, and most interestingly: a recording function. Press a button and your receiver will start recording both what you say, and what’s being said on the line. End the recording and your scanner will have a Windows - compatible file ready to upload to your PC.

The biggest plus of this device is the fact the digital and trunking builds are very well made, ensuring a large coverage, as well as satisfactory sound quality over the long distance.

Other than that, we were happy that it’s compliant with Phase 1 and Phase 2, and we have to give a shout out to the recording capability.

As a detriment, we should talk about its software.

The thing is complex, with a huge multitude of features, submenus and possible uses, and in turn, the User Interface is sometimes much too complicated and hard to use for the regular folk.

This problem was something our focus group complained about, with 20% of them saying they were unable to do what they wanted on the scanner. Regardless of that, the experts seem to love this device, because the radio amateurs we’ve consulted vehemently supported it, while our opinion itself was somewhere in between.

Features:

• Digital & Trunked.
• Compliance with Phase 1 and Phase 2.
• Multifunctional keypad.
• Recording function.

Compact, with a slick design and a lot of features, the Uniden BCD436HP is a good choice for those willing to scan on the go. A digital and trunked option, this is truly a police scanner to consider.

The best feature of this product is, by far, the software options, featuring the possibility of creating a Favorites List, stocking your preferred channels on a 4GB memory, as well as Quick Keys, and the option to temporarily avoid a certain channel. You can tap into talkgroups with its trunking capabilities, and you’ll always know of a meteorological event due to its S.A.M.E. weather system.

Another plus of this scanner is the location-based scanning. It makes sure you always listen to what’s happening closest to you. Other than that, we can mention the narrowband reception capabilities, the aforementioned weather alert system, and a multitude of software options.

The downside of this scanner is a gamble, since you don’t know if it will happen to you, but both our experts and the people we’ve interviewed reported that conventional, analog frequencies are sometimes not picked up properly (even not picked up at all), so the uncertainty surely affects the final rating of this Uniden product.

We put this police scanner to the test, and found that overall it’s qualitative; it has a good sound, good reception, and a lot of helpful features. The people we’ve interviewed agree it’s a good choice, but as we’ve mentioned: both they and the experts encountered problems with picking up conventional frequencies. These cases include one of our focus group members not being able to pick up what was transmitted by a veterinary center right across the street from them.

Features:

• Picks up anything in between 23 MHz - 1300 MHz
• Trunked & Digital.
• A.M.E. Weather Alert System
• Handheld

An aesthetic design, a lot of features and some bad rep in parts of the radio amateur world, this heavy police scanner with complex software may still be a good choice for some.

Here’s why:

A digital and trunked scanner, the Whistler WS1065 features an advanced memory system, allocating space efficiently and based on needs. It has a weather alert system with the Skywarn Storm Spotter function and the software is very well built, with a lot of menus, quick keys, and buttons for you to play with.

We really have to praise its Menu Driven programming, which is basically a system designed for noobs. Whenever you press a button on this Whistler device, a small block of text with a snippet of helpful information will appear on the screen, telling you what that function is, or what that button does.

Other than that helpful feature, we like dynamic memory allocation structure, the weather alert system, and the fact the digital build of the scanner allows for qualitative sound when listening to a transmission.

On the downside, we have to mention the WS1065 is known to have receiver issues. Many of the said components fail often, leaving the scanner in need of a repair.

However, the people we’ve interviewed didn’t have any problems with that, none of them reported a failure in any instance.

But the problem became apparent when we discussed this device with a few experts.

Their stance was against this police scanner, since some of them had problems with the device themselves, or knew someone who did. They even provided an explanation as to why the receiver is predisposed to a risk of failure, but I’m lacking a few degrees to be able to explain that to you.

Features:

• Digital & Trunked.
• Advanced Memory System.
• Weather alert system.
• Desktop Design.
• A lot of menus and quick keys

A handheld, ergonomic design with a large antenna and a pretty complex system, the Uniden BC75XLT is a well-made police scanner. It’s good for people who want to use a compact device.

The main features include coverage of both VHF and UHF frequencies, Close Call RF for location-based scanning, and a storage of up to 300 channels. Other things to mention are its compliance with narrowband and a PC programming port.

This device’s main advantage is the aforementioned PC ming port, which makes the entire process of setting up your police scanner much easier. One secondary benefit is the location-based scanning, due to the RF technology, a scanning type which although may malfunction at certain times, is quite the plus for a device that’s been built for mobile use.

The downsides of the Uniden BC75XLT are two, but they are not to be neglected. The first problem is the low amount of memory, which only allows for a storage of 300 channels. In contrast, market competitors offer a memory that stores anything in between of 500 channels, and up to thousands of channels.

The second problem is a rather low battery life, corroborated with the occasional sudden, unexplainable drop in energy.

The experts we’ve consulted let us know about these battery issues before the actual testing, as it’s a pretty known issue, but both ourselves and our focus group noticed these problems nonetheless. Other than that, we were happy with the device’s capabilities, especially how easy the process of programming becomes when you can use your PC.

Features:

• Coverage of both UHF and VHF frequencies.
• Location-based scanning
• Storage of up to 300 channels
• Handheld design.
• PC ming port.